4.5/5 Ru San's has been my go to, steady sushi spot for lunch for years. The food is always so well prepared and fresh. The rolls, there a million different ones, pack so much flavor and are made up of large pieces, not smaller pieces like you'll see at other spots. I love the Dragon Eye Roll but anything there is great! Service is also always top notch, waiters are friendly, knowledgable and can guide you if you're unsure what you want to get. It is a relaxed, chilled atmosphere. Perfect for a first date or casual lunch/dinner with friends. Highly highly recommend. read more

I'm very sad to say that this was just a terrible experience end-to-end. my coworkers hyped this place up and we were all excited to go one afternoon for lunch. Firstly, the restaurant seating area just feels rundown, and we even had a dirty napkin on our table when we were seated. Our waitress seemed annoyed that we were there. Very surly and rarely to be seen. I had heard that there was a buffet, but I guess they stopped doing that. There were five of us at the table and not one person was satisfied with the food. Everything was very bland. Thankfully, there were buckets of soy sauce and pepper on the table next to the dirty napkin. I will not be back. And I cannot recommend this place. read more

Ru San's - Lunch Menu - Sushi Bars Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

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Decades ago, this was my fave Japanese restaurant...but we rarely go here now. We recently met my son and his girlfriend for a double date on a Saturday night, and this was my impression... First of all, the place has been renovated...with a screened in porch outside, and some updated booths inside. However, despite some nice renovations, there were some other changes that I didn't like. They no longer crank up the music...instead the overhead was very muted. This sort of ruined the fun vibe of the place. Also, YEARS ago, every guest was greeted when you entered and left the restaurant with this Japanese-style yelping. It was actually kinda funny...but it was somewhat the hallmark of this restaurant. But no longer. No loud music...no funny greetings. Kinda sad? Then the foods. We ordered everything from Shrimp Tempura appetizer, to Fried Rice, Sushi Rolls, to a Chicken Katsu dish. THE only dish I was impressed with was their Katsu dish. Everything else looked and seemed kinda blah. That included my once-favorite "Rising Sun" Sushi Roll...just a pale comparison to how it was done before. I did enjoy the Lychee Sake though. Service was a bit minimal as well. Think the waitress visited us just once...near the end of our meal? Overall, I was quite disappointed. This place is just not the same as it used to be in its "heyday". read more

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The food was delicious, I have been looking for a bento box with yummy options and I found it. The service from Juan was amazing and the inside was clean. I would definitely come back. read more

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Yummy sushi! One of my favs in charlotte. They have heated outdoor seating along with indoor seating! Pricier than I like to spend on sushi, but the rolls were delicious. I forgot the names of the rolls that we ordered Seaweed salad was yummy! Miso soup was standard, edamame's was standard Parking lot for easy parking read more

Ru San's - Miso soup, Wakame Seaweed Salad, Edamame - Sushi Bars Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

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I haven't been to Ru San in years but I must say I'm glad I came back. Like most Sushi restaurants they have a ton of options. I actually enjoyed everyone we tried. If gets a bit smokey inside from whatever cooking source the use but I'll be back on a nice day and just sit outside. 4 stars only because the drink menu has room for improvement. read more

who doesn't love being pleasantly surprised ! My first visiting Ru San's I was a little skeptical . Weekday late lunch time , parking lot wasn't too crowded . The artwork inside was beautiful. It gave the vibe some urban flair instead of cookie cutter decor . Most importantly everything was delicious ! Mango saketini .. YUM ! Beef fried rice could've used a little more flavor but that's nothing low sodium soy sauce can't fix . I can't remember the name of the roll unfortunately but it was fried with raw tuna and tastyyyy ! Probably my new favorite honestly. We also ordered cold sake and shrimp tempura, true and true classics you can't go wrong . We will definitely return to try more items , read more

Ru San's - Sushi Bars Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

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Overall I had great experience. I got seated immediately. They have lot of tables, so there was no wait time on a Tuesday evening. I ordered miso soup, cucumber salad, salmon sashimi and gladiator rolls. Enjoyed all. Staff were friendly and quick. The price was reasonable. read more

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We ordered sushi rolls which were bomb! The spicy tuna, exotic and Philly rolls were excellent! All rolls were made with care and the quality fish. From the moment we walked in the service was amazing. Kudos to our sweet and attentive server Ash. She stayed on top of her game and was in tune with all our needs. The restaurants vibe was cool with good music and the staff appeared to get along well. I'd give this restaurant a 10 out of 10. read more

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Best sushi I've had in Charlotte, and I have been to many restaurants! Sushi is my favorite food and this blew me away. Pricing was reasonable as well. My husband and I just had a new baby, so for my birthday we ordered an absolute feast of sushi and my husband picked it up to bring it home. The seaweed salad was fantastic, the rolls were incredibly fresh and traveled well. The rainbow roll was unique compared to what we have had at other restaurants. Will absolutely be back! read more

Ru San's - Sushi Bars Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

Everything came out fresh, on time, and exactly as ordered. It was so good I forgot to take any pictures before diving in! The sushi was flavorful and well-prepared, and the whole experience was super smooth. I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5 because of two small things: the soy sauce bottles were mismatched. while the green and red caps were there to show which was low sodium vs regular, both bottles turned out to be regular soy sauce. I always go for low sodium when I can, so that was a little disappointing. Also, the dessert selection felt like an afterthought. Would love to see a better variety or something more exciting to end the meal on. Still, great sushi spot overall. definitely worth a visit if you're in Charlotte! read more

Ru San's - Sushi Bars Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

Aesthetic: Modern, authentic sushi restaurant with an extensive menu of classic and original rolls. My Favorites: The Grinch Roll Experience: I came on a quiet Tuesday night and was able to sit outside, and the weather was cool and perfect. The waitress was very sweet and attentive. I tried the Grinch Roll and The Green Turtle Roll, and the Grinch really stood out! I love fancy tuna rolls so it was perfect. The Green Turtle was a little too heavy on the honey mayo, it threw me off a bit, but I still finished and enjoyed it. I will definitely be back to try more. read more

Ru San's - Grinch Roll and Green Turtle Roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

Ru San's in Charlotte NC is one of my favorite sushi places to visit while in Charlotte . It's always crowded and they do take reservations but definitely worth the wait if you don't. The staff are friendly and welcoming and very busy so they don't spend much time talking with you. There is a large menu with many options including vegetarian. We enjoy the ahi tuna sashimi, a few different sushi rolls, plain noodles for the children and miso soup. Service is not fast but food is delivered hot and is worth the wait. They also offer carry out, which is convenient on school nights. If you're looking for a clean, friendly sushi restaurant this is the place to go. Highly recommend Ru San's! read more

TLDR: Great value sushi I'm a HUGE fan of Yamazaru, so when I found out that the owner of Ru San also opened Yamazaru, I had to give Ru San a try. One of my go-to orders at Yamazaru is the Chirashi bowl and a couple rolls, so I stuck with the same items here. I placed my order on a Wednesday afternoon through GrubHub, and the food arrived well-packaged and nicely presented. The Chirashi bowl came loaded with a wide variety of fish: salmon, tuna, yellowtail, scallop, mackerel, crab stick, tamago, white tuna, octopus, red clam, and shrimp. It also included a generous portion of rice, seaweed salad, and octopus salad. For $28, it's an incredible amount of food and a solid value. That said, the quality was hit-or-miss--the tuna was a bit fishy, and the rice tasted more like Chinese takeout rice than proper sushi rice. The Sushi Ornaments Roll and Yellowtail Sangria Roll were both very good, especially at around $13 each. The Sushi Ornaments roll is basically rice balls topped with slices of fish, crunch, and sauces. It leaned on the mushier side, but I still enjoyed it. The Yellowtail Sangria Roll was exactly what I was hoping for--the yellowtail was fresh, the jalapeño had a nice bite, and the flavors balanced really well. Overall, I give Ru San a 3/5. If you're looking for quality, Yamazaru is still the winner in my book, but for portion size and value, Ru San holds its own. read more

Ru San's - Sushi Ornaments (top) & Yellowtail Sangria Roll (bottom) - Sushi Bars Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

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Stopped in during lunch time. They have a pretty decent lunch time menu and a variety of specialty sushi rolls to try if you wanted something different. I enjoyed my lunch special and didn't leave feeling like I needed/wanted more. I would come back for another visit read more

Ru San's - Sushi Bars Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

Quality and quantity... I absolutely love this place. I have yet to have a bad meal, and the customer service is also on par. There are soooo many options on the menu, the variety of sushi combinations is impressive. I often go back to the same two. I have also tried the "spicy" chicken udon. It's really not spicy at all, lucky for me that's how I like it. This time around I went with the Lol! roll. Not only is the presentation top tier, so are the flavors. You get this deep fried shrimp (that's a really good size btw) sandwiched together with avocado and cream cheese. It's incredible, the textures are wonderful and so are the flavors. Plenty of parking, and a very large dining room make it perfect and stress free. There is also a patio out front for nice weather days. Pro tip: Ru San's is in one of the most underrated neighborhoods in Charlotte. So nice peaceful, but most importantly walkable. I'd take full advantage of the area, after eating until nirvana. read more

Ru San's has become our go to for celebrations, birthdays, anniversaries, friends in town. The sushi is absolutely incredibly delicious, the presentation is stunning. The waitstaff are friendly, knowledgeable and so much fun. Their sushi chef's are true craftsmen. The ambiance is warm and welcoming, in the summer the covered patio is fun and comfortable. I can't tell you my favorites because we have never ordered anything we didn't throughly enjoy. It is a must try! read more

Ru San's is the best!! I've been coming here for years and nothing compares to to this place. Warm, welcoming, local and great food! Ricardo is always sure to brighten up my night and the rest of the staff is amazing as well. Thank you for all of the years of great sushi n smiles !!! read more

Ru San's - Grinch Roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

Overall, I'd recommend this place for sushi if you're in the area, though it may not be worth a drive specifically for sushi. The sushi is done well in general, though a large number of the rolls they have available involve avocado (which I don't think has much place in sushi). The sushi I did get came out quickly and was good the whole way through. I stuck mostly to the specialty rolls, so I can't comment much on the basics. The one glaring issue is that the egg on the tamago nigiri came out cold. Maybe that's just the way Ru San's does this piece, but it was jarring. The atmosphere is real casual, and the prices reflect it. I don't think you're going to get sushi this good in Charlotte at this price elsewhere. read more

Came here with a friend from out of town before a comedy show. We enjoyed ourselves but our dinner was kind of soured because my friend was seated underneath a drippy AC unit in the ceiling. It dripped in her food so she couldn't finish and she had about half a roll left. We mentioned it to the waiter who took forever to flag down and he was really nice about it, but he did nothing in the way of taking that roll off of her tab. My food was good and I've attached a photo of my rolls but yeah this place loses a couple of stars for me. read more

Ru San's - Sushi Bars Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

Very nice ambiance! Reminds me of a diner. Great for social outing or date night. Lemonade Saki-not all that good. Could not taste the lemonade. Waves-large and pretty tasty. Could be a meal with fried rice for smaller appetite. Queen City Roll-this was . Chunks of salmon on top. There is a sauce that is salty so really no need for soy sauce. Pork Belly Fried Rice-enough for two. Wish the egg was actually sunny side up, but other a great dish packed with veggies. read more

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I haven"t been to Ru Sans since maybe 2013 and coming back in 2024 was nostalgic for me. The food was amazing as usual. I brought my fiancé and he enjoyed it very well!!! I will come back for sure. The host was so sweet and my server took good care of us. read more

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I found Ru San's absolutely delightful. I had the pork katsu don dinner, unagi/sake kunsel/niku tatki nigiri, and the salmon kama. 100% recommend. Niku Tatki nigiri unexpectedly swept me off of my feet though! read more

Ru San's Ru San's, money as usual. Went out with the fam this past weekend for some pancakes but ended up here and, it didn't disappoint. We arrived soon after opening so we were greeted with a smile and seated quickly. The server was attentive and took our drink and food orders rather quickly since this wasn't our first rodeo. The Mrs got the Teriyaki Chicken which she didn't love, my daughter got the Udon Noodles and Veg Fried Rice (of course I had to taste it, MONEY) and I got a Sushi lunch platter. The sushi was of good quality and spot on as it usually is. My daughter loved her noodles and rice but the wife was underwhelmed with her dish. I guess the chicken was over done and dry, not to her liking. The vibe here is casual and they have good music playing in the background. We came early so it wasn't very loud, but it can get that way when it's busy. Going to have to hit this spot a little more often, I'm thinking on my next daddy daughter date because I've been thinking about that rice. My only knock on this spot is that they never seem to serve the table all at once, which is weird to me. I feel like the table should be served together so we can all eat at the same time. Check this spot out when your down for eating something of the Asian persuasion, you won't be disappointed. read more

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We visited around lunchtime. Seating was quick. Our appetizers were served within a timely manner. Everything was delicious. We had fun trying different combinations. I enjoyed my cucumber salad which was fresh. We enjoyed everything we tried and will visit again. The sushi was fresh and plentiful. This was some of the best sushi I've ever eaten. read more

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I order take out from here at least once a week. Grinch rolls are my favorite. I have recommended this place to a few people and all are now regulars. read more

Earlier this week I had lunch at Ru Sans. There was a nice crowd inside, so it's a popular dining option for a weekday lunch. Our waitress mastered of the art of taking her time. She was also a master of testing one's patience when it comes to quenching thirst, but I survived. We ordered drinks first, a water and a diet coke. She returned a few minutes later and we ordered a few appetizers and entrees. When the appetizers arrived, I was still without a drink, but she noticed and got it for me. The calamari was fantastic. Light, crispy, and fresh. I asked for sweet chili sauce instead of the thicker, mayo-based dip that came with it. Even better. The Lady in Red roll was decent. It was made well and the ingredients were fresh, but considering my taste preferences, I should have ordered something different. I still enjoyed the roll and ate the majority of it. The lunch menu had several options, but I checked out the dinner menu and immediately wanted to return. I haven't seen so many sushi options on one menu in a while. The service was a bit slow, but the food spoke for itself. I'm looking forward to going back for dinner. read more

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I was looking back at my old review where I gave three stars and I had to come update because I've been back several times since and the food does not miss. Just recently, I have lunch here and ordered crab Rangoon (cream cheese dip), chicken udon noodles and my favorite sweet potato caterpillar roll. I definitely ordered too much food but I wanted a little bit of everything. I sat in the patio area to dine in. Service was good and my food was brought out separately, but each item didn't take very long and all were served hot. Big portion on the noodles. I was a little scared to order the chicken udon because it is listed as spicy on the menu, but I asked the waiter if they could possibly do no spice which they did, and it was perfect. He did mention that even though it says spicy udon, it's not spicy at all, but I took no chances. My cream cheese dip, a.k.a. crab Rangoon was perfectly fried and so tasty and my sushi is always a hit because I get a basic role that you can't really mess up. I really wanted to try the banana spring roll dessert but I was so full and had zero room. Next time. read more

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Finding fish bones in your sushi is a shore way to never order from somewhere again. I used to enjoy this place but lately the quality of their take out has tanked read more

Ru San's - Fish bones - Sushi Bars Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

This has been in the rotation for when we want sushi lately. The restaurant is large and usually busy, but you can squeeze in with a party of two pretty easily. I have found my favorite rolls and will stick to them - the girlfriend roll and the rich and famous roll are excellent. There are pics available of just about every menu item which is very helpful for beginners. I like the mix of quality rolls + an unpretentious location. read more

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Yum, yum! Great sushi, great atmosphere and great service. What more can you want in a convenient and fun sushi place? The sushi list is VERY comprehensive and there is something for everyone. The only problem is 1) you can't decide what you want and 2) you order more than you could ever eat because it's so delicious. That said, we started with edamame, ordered the Salmon Quarto (made 4 ways), and then my friend ordered hibachi and I ordered 2 more rolls. ALL was very delicious and I can't wait to go back! read more

Ru San's - Sushi Bars Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

This place a nice gem of a place that I visited off the recommended ration if a friend. Service: The hostess was very friendly and provided great recommendations for Bento box which I asked about. Many of the servers were new, but very nice and asked questions other team members questions when they needed help, Lillie was very sweet. My water spilled and another worker was quick to assist with cleaning it up. Food. Started with the Calamari, lightly crispy and flavored well and aioli sauce set it off well definitely get if you are Calamari fan. I ordered a bento box ( you get to choose 2 of 8 options and about 3 things come with it edamame, tempura veggies and shrimp and miso soup or salad ) that came with tempura shrimp and veggies, I swapped out the Edamame, I liked the tempura sweet potato and squash, chicken teriyaki flavored well and I would get that in the future as an entree. I also got the grinch roll that was also very good--no one stole Christmas here these were fire- wish I found hostess name I took all her recommendations and she did not miss !! My friends got three types of sushi and they crushed not sure what they had but check the photos . Also, won friend got the plum wine and must have loved it she ordered a second and was feeling no pain smiling and giggling fur rest of the night, looking for who might be ready to buy the next round lol Ambiance not fancy, basic casual vibe has indoor outdoor seating --tried outdoors but even at 830pm that heat had us feeling like slow bake rotisserie chicken quickly asked to be reseated inside where the AC was doing its job. I recommend for sure ! read more

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I came in here around 3pm on a Tuesday. They have a lunch menu but it ends at 2:30. For food, I ordered two rolls - the Atomic salmon roll and the Summer mango roll. Both were delicious and more than enough food for one person. My favorite of the two was the atomic salmon. read more

Ru San's - Atomic Salmon Roll (left) and Summer Mango Roll (right) - Sushi Bars Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

Sushi is always great here! Extensive menu and friendly staff! There is lots of seating. read more

Ru San's - Sushi Bars Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

Love Ru San's! They have a very extensive menu with a large variety of reasonably priced sushi rolls and other entrees. It can be very busy on a weekend night. I did feel our service was a bit slow, but it was a packed Saturday night. It is a great spot to grab amazing sushi and I will certainly return! read more

Ru San's - Shrimp Tempura Roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

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I've eaten here twice. The food here is simply just ok. Not really what I'm looking for when I think of a sushi Resturant. I was kind of surprised that they did not have the ingredients to make a simple old fashion cocktail despite having what seemed to be a full bar. Not impressed to say the least. I will be honest in that I have 2 friends that really like this place, but it's really just a no for me. I will say the rice dishes were very big and easily can share with others. All in all ititss giving "meh". read more

Great food n staff. Don't call an order for delivery. Food not as good as it is when fresh.

Best sushi in Charlotte. PERIOD. This place is a staple and hands down the best "real" sushi in the area. Personal favorite.. Firecracker and crispy Tuna. Pure amazing read more

Ru San's - Fire Firecracker Maki Roll & Crispy Tuna Roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

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The portion sizes have become smaller than raising the prices.The service was so extremely poor, I doubt if our server as ever been been a sever before. I will be returning again. read more

Always consistent. Always fresh. Pound for pound, the best sushi you're going to find in Charlotte!